The Luton Truck

Below is a photo of the Luton Truck to be decorated by the Youth Team, myself and Haider Ali in time for Spring 2011.

As you can see it's a standard TJ Bedford lorry looking very much like it did when it rolled off of the production line all those years ago, with it's dropside rear load area.

So what is the difference between this truck and the Pakistan Bedfords?

The answer: Quite a lot really.
The Bedford TJ in Pakistan has been modified to suit the needs of the country, the roads, the loads it is carrying and materials used to modify the truck, in fact the truck is so modified that the original design is barely recognisable other than the front wings, bonnet and windscreen.

You can see the height difference between the two trucks; the Pakistan truck has a much higher road clearance through the use of larger springs, so that it can take a heavy load over rough terrain. Extra clearance of the load area is gained by fitting a 6 inch/150mm piece of mahogany timber running the length of the chassis; this is clamped with large U clamps to the chassis and the bed of the lorry is then fitted to the timber. The bed is also concave in shape so as to accommodate a large and tall load of 50Kg sacks, this design enables the load to be more stable when stacking sacks beyond the height of the truck.

The other striking difference is the cab, it's gone! The only parts left are the wings, bonnet and half of the metal holding the windscreen in place. These remaining Bedford items are bolted to a mahogany frame to which the carved wooden doors and taj or crown board are also fitted. This new cab carries most of the heavily decorated woodwork picked out in coloured paint or inlaid with bone. The cab is then bolted to the steel load area behind, making for a very strong structure and one that can carry loads from the Arabian Sea to the Chinese,Iranian and Afghan borders. These trucks locally are called "Rockets" although they plod along very slowly with the standard Bedford engine pulling all that extra weight even before they are loaded with tons of barley, sugar or silk.

What will the Luton Truck look like?

It would be great to reconstruct the Luton Truck and turn it into one of the Pakistan Rockets. Unfortunately this will not be possible, due to cost, height restrictions at the museum where the truck is to be displayed and I'm sure the Department For Transport might have some questions about it too!

We will have to compromise in the design by building the load area higher, constructing a smaller taj which will allow the truck to get into the museum, fitting all the bright steelwork and covering the whole truck in decoration which reflects Lutons' cultural heritage. It's not going to be a replica of the Pakistan Rocket, more a truck which has a wheel in the UK and a wheel/hubcap in Pakistan!

Progression of one panel

This sequence of photos shows the image on one panel of the truck taking shape. The design starts with Haider drawing free hand with a ball point pen on the trucks body, he then starts adding the colour to each area, a bit at a time; slowly the design of an eagle with a banner behind starts to take shape. The finer detail, shading and lining really bring the picture to life and wakes the image up, last but not least the name of the painters and phone number are added.

In the image of the finished piece you can see Haiders' work, the calligraphers work above Haiders' partridges and the yard owners colourful work picking out the carved wood along the top and making some nice patterns on the strengthening vertical steel structure of the trucks body.

All Artisans involved in the decoration

This sequence of photos shows the team of men working on this truck.

1. Haider Ali the Truck Artist I am working with and the man who will transform the Luton Truck
2. The Mosaic Mirror installer working on the crown of the truck.
3. The calligrapher applying signage and ornamentation around the transport companies logo
4. The Yard owner and man responsible for the colourful decoration of all the carved areas and any area not decorated by the others, he is also responsible for the spraying of the truck.
5. The man responsible for the preparation of the truck, sanding and removal of old paint.

Work starts on Bedford in old city yard

Work began on the Traditional Pakistan Bedford Truck in the small yard in the old part of the city, a few metres walk from where we bought all the steel work for the Luton Truck. The yard currently has two Bedford trucks in for a refit and decoration owned by the same man, one old Hino tanker being rebuilt and a bus awaiting work to be started.

Haider Ali and myself have the task of decorating one of the Bedford Trucks, I say Haider and myself but this is not strictly true as there are a team of men working on the decoration of this truck, the sprayer paints the chassis and applies colourful decoration to all the carved areas, the calligrapher applies the writing in both Urdu and English together with very accurate decoration to enhance his writing, Haider applies the larger pictures on the truck such as Peacocks, Partridges, Horses etc. the mirror worker applies the small mosaic mirror work above and inside the cab, another man does all the rubbing down of the old paint and then there are the mechanics busy on suspension and brakes etc. all working on the truck at the same time, including the man spraying the chassis and filling the air with a fine black enamel mist.

This truck will be finished in about 7 days, again the owner and driver of the trucks watch very closely to make sure all is done to their satisfaction, ordering small cups of tea to keep the workers satisfied. Time is money and the longer the truck is out of action the greater the loss of income.

Being an Apprentice in Truck Decoration

For the past 4 days I have been working with Haider Ali, the Truck Artist who will be visiting Luton to apply paint decoration to the Bedford Truck. I am his apprentice for my stay here, which means I spend time with Haider watching how he applies the unique decoration.

I have been allowed to apply paint on my own but only on the mud guards under the truck; the truck owners stay with the vehicle and watch closely as the decoration is applied and obviously don't want any mistakes on their truck which they are paying a lot to have repainted, it is the same as paying $15,000 to have a vehicle painted in the UK.

The speed at which Haider and his 15 year old brother work is amazing, between them they have painted 4 flat bed Bedford trucks in 4 days. I haven't been able to take any photos of the work in this area of the city due to trucks arriving from all over the country loading and unloading; this area is near the port and as you can imagine attracts people from all professions, including the undesirable ones. I will be able to take photos of the larger Bedford truck to be painted in a quiet yard starting on Monday which is in a residential area of the old city. This truck is the large traditional Bedford, the other 4 had been converted to ridgid body container lorries and have lost that unique look, the truck owners are having to move with the times and containers are the way freight is shipped these days except in the rural areas where the older style is still required.

Going Through Metalwork Workshops

I now have access to a computer for the duration of my stay thanks to Fahim. The Youth Team left on Sunday after a long delay at the Airport and all arrived safely in London.

Myself and Fahim spent 3 days walking the small alleyways and workshops in the old part of the city, lots of busy workshops producing stainless steel items, reflective tape, hooters, paint etc. a real Aladdin's cave of parts for Bedfords. We bought all the decoration needed to be fixed to the truck.

Every piece of metalwork was once something else, mainly washing machine drums; parts are cut up, hammered into shape and decorated with a hammer punch, nothing goes to waste here. Children after school tie large magnets on strings and walk about to collect any metal on the ground which is reused again.

All the items are now being packed ready to be shipped back to Luton